The Relationship between Smoking, Raynaud's Phenomenon, Digital Ulcers, and Skin Thickness in the Waikato Systemic Sclerosis Cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous complex autoimmune connective tissue disease with variable presentation as a consequence of multisystem involvement. One of the key features of SSc is Raynaud's phenomenon along with vascular endothelial dysfunction that leads to digital ulcers (DUs). Raynaud's tends to be triggered by decreasing thermal gradient exposure, while stress and smoking also play a role. DUs arising as a consequence of severe Raynaud's and vasculopathy are a major cause of morbidity and disability in SSc. We set out to determine the relationship between smoking, Raynaud's phenomenon, DUs, and skin thickness in our Waikato Systemic Sclerosis cohort.

Methods

The Waikato Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) database was used to extract data. Variables collec

SUBMITTER: Silva C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9524819 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature